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The breeding programme of high-bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) in Poland is relatively young.
The first crossings of parental forms were carried out in 2008 in the Plant Breeding Department of the Institute of Pomology and Floriculture (now the Institute of Horticulture) in Skierniewice.
The first seedlings from this programme were obtained in 2010, and in the same year they were planted in the selection plot in the Experimental Orchard in Dąbrowice.
In 2012, the seedlings are showing very good growth, but the first assessment of their fruiting will take place in 2013. The objectives of the blueberry breeding are similar to those being realized in other breeding centres working with this crop.
Particular attention is paid to good adaptation of the genotypes being bred to soil and climate conditions of Poland.
The important goals in breeding also include a high productivity of the shrubs, good quality of the berries, both internal and external, good firmness and shelf life.
New cultivars should meet the requirements of the fresh fruit market (dessert cultivars) and those of the processing industry (fruit harvested with combine harvesters). The high-bush blueberry breeding programme is carried out as part of a long-term programme overseen and funded by the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Warsaw.